In the installation of a prosthetic shoulder joint into a patient's body, a glenoid component is implanted into the glenoid vault of the patient's scapula. An obverse surface of the glenoid component is configured for articulating contact with a humeral component carried by the patient's humerus. A reverse surface of the glenoid component is secured to the bone surface of the glenoid vault.
Because the shoulder prosthesis is normally provided to correct a congenital or acquired defect of the native shoulder joint, the glenoid vault often exhibits a pathologic, nonstandard anatomic configuration. A surgeon must compensate for such pathologic glenoid vault anatomy when implanting the glenoid component in striving to achieve a solid anchoring of the glenoid component into the glenoid vault. Detailed preoperative planning, using two- or three-dimensional internal images of the shoulder joint, often assists the surgeon in compensating for the patient's anatomical limitations. During the surgery, an elongated pin may be inserted into the surface of the patient's bone, at a predetermined trajectory and location, to act as a passive landmark or active guiding structure in carrying out the preoperatively planned implantation. This “guide pin” may remain as a portion of the implanted prosthetic joint or may be removed before the surgery is concluded. This type of pin-guided installation is common in any joint replacement procedure—indeed, in any type of surgical procedure in which a surgeon-placed fixed landmark is desirable.
In addition, and again in any type of surgical procedure, modern minimally invasive surgical techniques may dictate that only a small portion of the bone or other tissue surface being operated upon is visible to the surgeon. Depending upon the patient's particular anatomy, the surgeon may not be able to precisely determine the location of the exposed area relative to the remaining, obscured portions of the bone through mere visual observation. Again, a guide pin may be temporarily or permanently placed into the exposed bone surface to help orient the surgeon and thereby enhance the accuracy and efficiency of the surgical procedure.
A carefully placed guide pin or other landmark, regardless of the reason provided, will reduce the need for intraoperative imaging in most surgical procedures and should result in decreased operative time and increased positional accuracy, all of which are desirable in striving toward a positive patient outcome.